On Nov. 4, the Trump Administration formally notified the United Nations of its intent to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Accord, the first step in a year-long process to leave the international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Janet McCabe, a professor of practice at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law and director of IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute, served as the acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the EPA from July 2013 through January 2017.
“President Trump’s formal notification of US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement is another executive action of utter irresponsibility being imposed on this country and the global community,” said McCabe. “The entire world has endorsed the Paris agreement. Rejecting it is a betrayal of our young people and will hurt the country’s economic competitiveness as the world transitions to a low-carbon future.
“That the US is not only refusing to participate in the global effort to protect the climate that so perfectly suits human existence but is also explicitly supporting the extraction of even more fossil fuels should be of grave concern to every person on the planet.
“In the 365 days before the withdrawal can become official, how many more Americans will have to endure increasingly powerful coastal storms, unprecedented wildfires, or unplanned power outages to avert the risk of more fires? Climate change is here. It is now.
“Here in Indiana, businesses, local governments and individuals are installing solar panels, planting trees, turning their thermostats down and their voices up. But we need national policies that will encourage, reward, and support these activities—not a federal government that seems to delight in repealing programs that protect public health and our economy.”
McCabe has also served as air director at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and she has held other environmental policy and management positions in that department and in Massachusetts.
To speak with McCabe, contact Jonathan Hines, Indiana University, [email protected], 812-856-3610.
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